Sometimes it's interesting to know how athletes got into their respective sport. Was it the traditional "the ball was put into my hands at a young age" line athletes like to use or a non-traditional route.

Jalen Smereck was basically born into the game of hockey. His father coached his two older brothers and it wasn't long - at the age of 2, he said - that he was hooked.

Nineteen years later, Smereck is an undrafted prospect and one of many prospects to participate in the Coyotes' recent developmental camp at Gila River Arena. He's on a three-year entry-level contract with the team -- $686,000 for the next two seasons according to capfriendly.com -- and is among several prospects trying to prove they belong.

As Smereck recalls his passion for the game, one thing about him stands out the most: he’s a Black hockey player - a bit of a rarity.

In 2014, The Atlantic ran a report saying 5 percent of NHL viewership comes from Blacks (3 percent) and Latinos (2 percent). And only 5 percent of NHL players are Black, according to NPR in 2015.

Smereck wears his "minority" badge proudly.

“It means a lot to me,” Smereck said. “Just growing up in Detroit, and now I’m here in Arizona, a lot of kids don’t make it out in Detroit from where I’m from. So, it’s just good to get out here and be on this professional stage and get a taste of the best. You’re here now and it’s kind of hard to suck it all in, but you have to suck it up and work your hardest.”

Some people around Smereck couldn’t adjust to him having a passion for hockey. Even though he played other sports such as basketball and baseball, he was looked at as an outsider for pursuing a career on the ice, but he was confident in his route.

“I mean, it was pretty tough,” he said. “I always get teased for playing hockey, but I stuck with it my whole life. Just me playing hockey and missing those other sports for hockey was kind of weird to everyone. I kind of got teased, but I said, ‘Hey, at the end of the day this is gonna take me somewhere.’”

Smereck didn't enjoy support from too many friends, and also heard how he betrayed his race because he played hockey.

“‘Hey, I don’t wanna hear that you’re a hockey player. Oh, you’re the White boy,’ stuff like that, ya know,” he said. “It wasn’t really bullying, but I just took it on my shoulders and said, ‘This is just gonna get me at the end of the day, so we’ll so who goes farther here.’”

There were plenty of other hurdles, said Smereck, adding that this has been “a pretty rough path for me,” recalling vile things being said to him because of the color of his skin, from the opposition and fans. But he views what he’s doing as a positive to show the Black kids behind him that there are options.

“I kind of took that as a challenge,” he said. “To prove people wrong and show 'em something different. That’s what I want to do, show the kids a different vision of the world.”

He pointed out how Predators defenseman P.K. Subban, who is Black, being on the cover of “NHL 19” as a “big thing.”

Subban is the first Black hockey player to grace the cover, and Smereck believes it’s a step in the right direction.

Pierre-Oliver Joseph, a friend of Smereck’s and the only other Black player at Coyotes camp, have clicked since they met, from playing “NHL 18” together to “Fortnite,” and just enjoying the company of each other. Joseph has a different viewpoint than Smereck, as he excludes color from the ice and just goes out on the ice to perform.

“Well, I don’t think we consider ourselves as Black athletes,” Joseph said. “We just consider ourselves as an athlete. We watch guys we’ll look at like P.K. Subban or like Wayne Simmonds and all those guys. They have no problem with any relationship in the locker room and stuff like that. They’re great personalities in the NHL. So, I think you just have to not think about it too much. I guess you just play your game and you’re a bit of a showoff to the young Blacks as well. You always want to do the right thing for them, like the older guys have done for you.”

The current generation of Black players is looking to continue the mission Willie O’Ree, the first ever Black NHL player and 2018 Hockey Hall of Famer, had back in 1957: increase the diversity within the sport. It’s tough for the NHL to compete, with basketball and football more accessible and easy to play in the communities of minorities.

Smereck believes diversity in the sport is imperative for its future.

“I think it’s huge,” Smereck said. “I always took it as a positive. I always felt with me being the only one out there by myself kind of meant a lot. Me just battling out there not really by myself, but with my teammates. Me being the only minority on the team shows a lot and it’s not easy being the only guy in the locker room.”